Indonesians, by and large, are nice people. They treat foreigners very well, to be sure. Indonesia isn’t one of the hottest Asian travel destinations for nothing! But there is one area where they could treat foreigners a little nicer: the Indonesian language itself. They’re glad if you can speak it and will treat you well because of that, absolutely. They just don’t think you can get good. They’ll tend to always simplify their speech and never tell you about the many mistakes you’re making. To avoid this misfortune, you’ll need to prove yourself with an Indonesian language proficiency test. Even then, it’s no guarantee that Indonesians will take your skills that seriously. After all, there are thousands of foreigners in Bali... Show more

There’s a lot to be said for being able to make good small talk in another language. Conversations can start up and keep going indefinitely with the right people. But what can you talk about? Perhaps you’ve tried talking about the weather and didn’t end up getting terribly far. Or perhaps you’ve already met someone in Indonesia and gotten along with them, but you don’t know what to talk about whenever you hang out. When something big happens in their life, you’ve got the perfect opening. For example, wishing them a happy birthday in Indonesian is a good way to open up new conversation topics (like what they want to do during this next year of their life, if they have special plans, etc.). Well-wishes, or ucapan in Indonesian, are... Show more